Supersub: Akhyar Rashid (left), who came in after the break, is closely marked by two Syrian players but still managed to score for Malaysia in the 2-2 draw in their friendly in China yesterday. — FAM
PETALING JAYA: Substitute strikers Akhyar Rashid and Darren Lok came to the rescue as Malaysia staged a rousing second half fightback to hold Syria to a 2-2 draw in a Tier 1 international friendly at the East-Town Football Park Stadium in Chengdu, China yesterday.
The result saw Harimau Malaya retain their unbeaten record throughout the year.
The national team under Korean coach Kim Pan-gon had notched four wins in four matches (Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea) that took place on home turf this year to jump to 136th in the world rankings.
Pan-gon brought back Dion Cools for the starting 11 after his absence from the team in the friendly action last June, which saw Malaysia beat Solomon Islands 4-1 and thumped Papua New Guinea 10-0.
However, Cools’ presence failed to inspire the defence as it was Syria who managed to get in front after just 12 minutes.
Syrian Mardik Mardikian cleverly turned his body to catch the Malaysian defence off guard before releasing a kick that keeper Syihan Hazmi failed to block.
The national squad tried to come back through several attempts but failed.
Another defensive lapse saw Syria extending their lead in the 41st minute when Yassin Samia connected with a header from a corner kick to disappoint Syihan once again.
Pan-gon then made four changes after the break by including Akhyar, Darren, Junior Eldstal and Sharul Nazeem Zulphakar.
The move paid off when Akhyar cleverly escaped from the Syrian defenders to easily tap in to beat Syrian goalkeeper Ahmad Madanieh in the 51st minute.
The goal sparked Malaysia’s resurgence and the national team almost scored the equaliser five minutes later but Faisal Halim’s header went slightly wide after receiving Cools’ cross.
Darren also had the opportunity to put his name on the scoresheets but his header went slightly high after connecting with Faisal’s pass in the 59th minute.
But Darren was not to be denied. With 10 minutes left, Safawi Rasid was brought in by Pan-gon and his shot at the end of a brilliant run was deflected into Darren’s path, leaving the Sabah player to finish the job and disappoint Syria, currently ranked 94th in the world.
Pan-gon saluted the players for their fighting performance.
“We played well except for two mistakes in the first half. But in the second half, we managed to equalise.
“It’s a very important result for us. We gained confidence and showed we are able to compete with a team ranked in the top 100.
“In the second half, we showed people our Harimau Malaya mentality and attitude to fight all the way,” said Pan-gon.
Malaysia will next take on China, ranked 80th in the world, in another Tier 1 friendly match on Saturday.
